Carlyle-Backed Adicon Picks Banks for Hong Kong IPO

(Bloomberg) -- Adicon Clinical Laboratories Ltd., a Chinese lab operator backed by Carlyle Group Inc., has picked banks for its Hong Kong initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company has selected Jefferies and Morgan Stanley to lead the share sale, which could raise about $400 million, the people said. Bank of America Corp. and China International Capital Corp. are also working on the offering, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private. A listing could happen as soon as next year, they said.

An offering by Adicon will add to the boom of health-care listings in Hong Kong as companies look to capitalize on rallying stocks and surging investor interest due to coronavirus pandemic. Hangzhou Tigermed Consulting Co., a Chinese clinical research service provider, raised nearly $1.4 billion when it listed in the city, the biggest for the sector in Asia this year.

Founded in 2004, Adicon runs more than 20 diagnostic laboratories in China and collaborates with almost 10,000 medical institutions, according to its website. Carlyle became the single largest shareholder of Adicon in 2018 when it teamed up with Meinian Onehealth Healthcare Holdings Co. to invest an unspecified amount.

Deliberations of the offering are ongoing and details including size and timeline could change, the people said. Representatives for Bank of America, Carlyle, CICC and Morgan Stanley declined to comment, while an external representative for Jefferies had no immediate comment.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.